Porous materials and method of making porous materials

ABSTRACT

A porous material includes a resin material based on a trifunctional ethynyl monomer. Pores in the porous material can be of various sizes including nanoscale sizes. The porous material may be used in a variety of applications, such as those requiring materials with a high strength-to-weight ratio. The porous material can include a filler material dispersed therein. The filler material can be, for example, a particle, a fiber, a fabric, or the like. In some examples, the filler material can be a carbon fiber or a carbon nanotube. A method of making a porous material includes forming a resin including a trifunctional ethynyl monomer component and a polythioaminal component. The resin can be heated to promote segregation of the components into different phases with predominately one or the other component in each phase. Processing of the resin after phase segregation to decompose the polythioaminal component can form pores in the resin.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application is a divisional of co-pending U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 14/920,628, filed Oct. 22, 2015.

INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE

The inventors hereby incorporate by reference IBM Docket#ARC920130049US1, filed in the U.S. Patent Office on Oct. 10, 2013 asapplication Ser. No. 14/050,995.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to porous materials, and morespecifically, to porous materials including polymeric materials andmethods of making porous materials comprising polymeric materials.

SUMMARY

According to one embodiment of the present disclosure, a porous materialincludes polyhexahydrotriazine (PHT) material having a plurality ofpores therein. The pores formed therein can be nanoscale pores. PHTmaterial includes a plurality of trivalent hexahydrotriazine (HT) groupshaving the structure (1):

a plurality of divalent bridging groups of structure (2):

wherein L′ is a divalent linking group selected from the groupconsisting of *—O—*, *—S—*, *—N(R′)—*, *—N(H)—*, *—R″—*, andcombinations thereof, wherein R′ comprises at least 1 carbon and R″comprises at least one carbon. In some embodiments, each starred bond ofa given hexahydrotriazine group is covalently linked to a respective oneof the divalent bridging groups, and each starred bond of a givenbridging group is linked to a respective one of the hexahydrotriazinegroups. In some embodiments, each nitrogen of a given hexahydrotriazinegroup is covalently linked to a respective aromatic carbon para to L′ ofa different one of the divalent bridging groups, and each starred bondof a given bridging group is linked to a different hexahydrotriazinegroup. In some examples, the porous material includes a filler, such asa particle, a fiber, or a fabric. In some examples, the filler is acarbon fiber. The filler may have dimensions such as it may be furtherdescribed as a nanoparticle, nanofiber, or nanotube. In some exampleapplications, the porous material can be formed into a structuralcomponent that requires a high strength-to-weight ratio.

According to another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method thatcan be used to form a porous material includes: forming a reactionmixture comprising: i) paraformaldehyde, ii) a monomer including atleast two primary aromatic amine groups, and iii) a polythioaminalincluding at least two primary aromatic amine groups; then heating thereaction mixture to form a resin including a polyhexahydrotriazine (PHT)component and a polythioaminal (PTA) component. The PHT componentincludes PHT material similar to that as described above. The PTAcomponent includes polythioaminal material having the general structure(3):

wherein each instance of R¹ is independently an organic orhetero-organic group. In some cases, each instance of R¹ may be the samespecies. Each instance of R² is independently an organic orhetero-organic group that may have a molecular weight of not more thanabout 120 Daltons, and each instance of R² may be the same species. Xand Z are each, independently, a sulfur-bonded species, and n is aninteger greater than or equal to 1. In each instance, R¹ may be ahydrocarbon species, an aromatic species, an aliphatic species, or apolymer species, such as polyethylene glycol species, polyol species, orpolyether species, any of the preceding of which can have substituentsother than hydrogen. In one embodiment, at least one instance of R¹ ispolyethylene glycol. In another embodiment, each instance of R¹ is thesame species. In yet another embodiment, each instance of R¹ isaromatic. In some examples, the porous material thus formed includes afiller, such as a particle, a fiber, or a fabric. In some examples, thefiller is a carbon fiber. The filler may have dimensions such as it canbe further described as a nanoparticle, nanofiber, or nanotube. In someexample applications, the porous material can be formed into astructural component that requires a high strength-to-weight ratio.Paraformaldehyde is a polyacetal OH(CH₂O)_(m)H (wherein m is typicallyin a range of 8-100).

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method includescontacting a polythioaminal (PTA) having terminal amine groups and adiamine monomer in the presence of paraformaldehyde to form a resinincluding a PTA rich phase and a PHT rich phase. The polythioaminal inthe resultant resin can be decomposed by heating, exposure to water,exposure to weak acids, or otherwise to form a porous resin materialincluding PHT. In some examples, the PTA can be decomposed by heatingunder low pressure conditions (such as under vacuum conditions) topromote removal of PTA decomposition products. In some examples, theweak acid can be acetic acid.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a method includesforming a mixture including: i) trifunctional ethynyl monomer, ii) apolythioaminal (PTA), and iii) a solvent. The mixture is heated to afirst temperature at which the trifunctional ethynyl monomer polymerizesto a first resin and the PTA is substantially stable. The mixture isthen heated to a second temperature at which the first resin furtherpolymerizes (e.g., crosslinks to a solid material) to a second resinthat is a substantially crosslinked resin and the PTA decomposes. Thesecond temperature is higher than the first temperature. In a particularexample, the trifunctional ethynyl monomer is 1,3,5 tris-(4-ethynylphenyl)benzene. The mixture may include a filler. The filler can be aparticle, a fiber, or a fabric. In some examples, the filler is a carbonfiber. The filler may have dimensions such as it can be furtherdescribed as a nanoparticle, nanofiber, or nanotube. The mixture can beprocessed (e.g., molded, applied as a coating, used as binding resin,etc.) to form an end use or structural component before heating to thesecond temperature or the heating to the second temperature may occurduring the processing of the mixture into the end use or structuralcomponent.

In another embodiment of the present disclosure, a porous material isformed by forming a reaction mixture comprising: i) paraformaldehyde,ii) a monomer including at least two primary aromatic amine groups, andiii) a polythioaminal including at least two primary aromatic aminegroups. The reaction mixture is heated to form a resin including apolyhexahydrotriazine (PHT) component and a polythioaminal (PTA)component. The resin is heated such that a polyhexahydrotriazine (PHT)rich phase and a polythioaminal (PTA) rich phase form in the resin. Theresin is then processed to decompose the polythioaminal component, forexample, the resin can be heated to a temperature at which thepolythioaminal component decomposes and the polyhexahydrotriazinecomponent is substantially stable. The polythioaminal component may alsobe decomposed by exposure to water and/or weak acids. Breakdown of thepolythioaminal (PTA) component forms the pores in the remaining resinmaterial including the polyhexahydrotriazine (PHT) component. The porescan be nanoscale pores. In some examples, a filler can be disposed inthe resin. The filler can be a particle, a fiber, or a fabric. In someexamples, the filler is a carbon fiber. The filler may have dimensionssuch as it can be further described as a nanoparticle, nanofiber, ornanotube. In some example applications, the porous material can beformed into a structural component that requires a highstrength-to-weight ratio. A solvent can optionally be incorporated inthe reaction mixture.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a phase-segregated material includingpolyhexahydrotriazine and polythioaminal.

FIG. 2 depicts a porous material including a polyhexahydrotriazine.

FIG. 3 depicts a scheme for preparing a material having apolyhexahydrotriazine rich phase and a polythioaminal rich phase.

FIG. 4 depicts a process for preparing a porous material.

FIG. 5 depicts a composite component including a polyhexahydrotriazinerich phase and a polythioaminal rich phase.

FIG. 6 depicts a composite component comprising a porous materialincluding polyhexahydrotriazine.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Preparation of various polyhemiaminal and polyhexahydrotriazinematerials is described in Ser. No. 14/050,995, filed in the U.S.P.T.O.on Oct. 10, 2013, the entire contents of which has been incorporatedherein by reference. Polyhexahydrotriazine materials generally have ahigh modulus and good thermal stability. These properties makepolyhexahydrotriazine attractive for uses in many applications such as,for example, fabrication of automobile and aerospace components, andmore generally any application requiring high strength-to-weight-ratios.Amongst other advantages, polyhexahydrotriazine may provide improvedstrength and thermal stability as compared to incumbent polymermaterials used in these applications. In many such applications, furtherreductions in component weight and increases in strength are desirable.As such, a porous polyhexahydrotriazine material could be used to reducecomponent weight, while still providing sufficient structural andthermal stability. Similarly, polyhexahydrotriazine might be used inconjunction with filler materials such as fibers and/or particles toprovide high strength components. A porous polyhexahydrotriazinematerial could also be used in conjunction with filler materials toprovide lighter composite materials. Additionally, a porouspolyhexahydrotriazine material could be used as a dielectric materialin, for example, semiconductor device applications. Also, porouspolyhexahydrotriazine material could be adopted as a catalyst supportsubstrate. Thus, these porous materials and methods for preparing theseporous materials are desirable.

Many different technologies have been explored in recent years regardingformation of composite materials by incorporation of various particles,fibers, fabrics, nanoparticles, nanofibers, and nanotubes into variousbinder resins. These binder resins, often referred to as “matrixresins,” generally are required to have high thermal stability, highdimensional stability, a high modulus, good solvent resistance, andstrong adhesion to the incorporated filler. And while compositecomponents are by their nature generally lighter than the metalcomponents they often replace, it is still desirable to further reducethe weight of these composite components when such is possible withoutsubstantial reduction in strength of the end-use component. As such, aporous polyhexahydrotriazine resin could be adopted as a matrix resin ina composite material, such as, for example, a carbon fiber composite toreduce overall composite component weight.

With reference to FIG. 1, a resin material 100 includes a firstcomponent such as a polyhexahydrotriazine (PHT) component and a secondcomponent such as polythioaminal (PTA) component. A method describedbelow in conjunction with FIG. 3 can be used to make resin material 100.In a particular example, resin material 100 can be prepared by reactionof amine terminated polythioaminals and a diamine monomer in thepresence of paraformaldehyde. By this reaction, copolymers of PHT andPTA can be prepared. In other embodiments, the resin 100 may be aphysical blend of a PTA material and a resin material other than PHT.

In FIG. 1, a PHT component is in portion 110 of the resin material 100.A PTA component is in portion 120 of the resin material 100. Asdepicted, portion 120 is generally dispersed within portion 110, but thereverse may also occur. Portion 110 may be referred to as a “PHT richphase” of resin material 100. Portion 120 may be referred to as a “PTArich phase” of resin material 100. In this context, a “rich phase” is aregion or portion of the resin material 100 in which one of thecomponents predominates over the other, the term however does notnecessarily imply complete exclusion of the other component from theregion or portion, though complete or substantially complete exclusionis also contemplated.

A certain PHT can be represented by general structure (4):

wherein x′ is moles, L′ is a divalent linking group selected from thegroup consisting of —O—, —S—, —N(R′)—, —N(H)—, —R″—, and combinationsthereof, wherein R′ comprises at least 1 carbon and R″ comprises atleast one carbon. Each starred bond of a given hexahydrotriazine groupin structure (4) is covalently linked to a respective one of thebridging groups. Additionally, each starred bond of a given bridginggroup is covalently linked to a respective one of the hexahydrotriazinegroups. In a particular embodiment, at least some bridging groups caninclude an L′ wherein —R″— has the following general structure (5):

wherein each instance of R¹ is independently an organic orhetero-organic group. In some cases, each instance of R¹ may be the samespecies. Each instance of R² is independently an organic orhetero-organic group that may have a molecular weight of less than 120Daltons, each instance of R² may be the same species, and n is aninteger greater than or equal to 1. When R″ corresponds to formula (5),R″ in this context can be referred to as a PTA component.

In an embodiment, resin material 100 can include a PHT-PTA copolymerincluding the following structure (6), where the depicted dashed linesrepresent connections to other PHT groups, to other PTA groups, or endgroups:

In general, the PHT-PTA copolymer represented by structure (6) will be across-linked polymer. The ratio of PHT groups to PTA groups can beadjusted by varying feed ratio and/or reaction conditions. The ratio ofend groups to PHT and PTA groups can be adjusted by incorporation ofdiluent primary amine reactants (i.e., a reactant having only oneprimary amine group) and/or the reaction conditions. The R¹ and R²groups are as described above. Also, n is as described above.

As an example, resin material 100 can be formed in the following manner.A PTA material can be synthesized from a hexahydrotriazine and a dithiolaccording to the general scheme (7):

In this scheme, R¹ and R² are as described above. X and Z are each,independently, a sulfur-bonded species, and n is an integer greater thanor equal to 1. In each instance, R¹ may be a hydrocarbon species, anaromatic species, an aliphatic species, or a polymer species such aspolyethylene glycol species, polyol species, or polyether species, anyof which species may have non-hydrogen substituents, as governed by thedithiols used in the reaction scheme. In one embodiment, at least oneinstance of R¹ is polyethylene glycol. In another embodiment, eachinstance of R¹ is an alkyl group and X and Z are primary aromaticamines. For example, each R¹ may be an n-alkyl group such as one of anethyl (C₂H₄) group, a propyl (C₃H₆) group, or a butyl (C₄H₈) group.

Alkane dithiols such as ethane dithiol, propyl dithiol, butane dithiol,pentane dithiol, and hexane dithiol may be used as precursors. Aromaticdithiols such as benzene dithiol, toluene dithiol, and xylene dithiolmay also be used as precursors. The dithiol may be a polymer species,such as a dithiol-capped polyolefin. Dithio-polyol species may also beused, such as dithio-alkane diols, triols, and the like. Each instanceof R² may independently be hydrogen, fluorine, methyl, or an alkylgroup, such as ethyl, propyl, butyl, hexyl, or cyclohexyl.

In scheme (7) the initial polymerization step to form a polythioaminalcan be conducted using a single dithiol component or a mixture ofdithiol components. When a mixture of dithiol components (i.e.,different R¹ groups) are used, a copolymer polythioaminal can be formed.The reaction can be conducted so as to form random copolymers by usingmixed dithiol components. Various block copolymers (or terpolymers,etc.) can be synthesized by performing reactions in sequence usingdifferent dithiol components at different times.

The initial polymerization reaction may be performed in a solvent mediumsuch as N-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP), or other suitable solvent, tocontrol viscosity. An example of such reaction is the reaction between1,3,5-trimethylhexahydrotriazine and 1,4-butanedithiol, as follows:

Reaction (8) may be performed using NMP as solvent or using thereactants themselves as solvent. For example, the reaction (8) may beperformed in excess triazine up to about 2 equivalents, such as from 1.3to 1.5 equivalents, for example about 1.3 equivalents. The precursorsmay be obtained from commercial suppliers or may be synthesized. In anexample process, reaction (8) is carried as follows: the dithiolprecursor is added to 1.3 equivalents of the triazine precursor in astirred vessel. The vessel is purged with nitrogen or other inert gasand sealed, and the reaction mixture is heated to about 85° C. Thereaction mixture is maintained at about 85° C. for about 18 hours toform oligomeric or low molecular weight polymeric material. Vacuum isthen applied to the vessel to remove volatile byproducts, driving growthin molecular weight of the resulting polymer molecules according toLeChatelier's Principle. The reaction can be allowed to proceed for 24hours or longer, however, stirring may ultimately cease due to theincreasing viscosity of the reaction mixture. The resulting polymer istypically optically transparent and may range from a solid to a viscousliquid.

In scheme (7), each instance of R² is preferably selected to form anamine byproduct (R²—NH₂) that is volatile at a temperature below 200° C.The preference for relatively low boiling R²—NH₂ byproducts is becausesome R² groups on the hexahydrotriazine precursor are ultimatelyincorporated into a byproduct rather than the resultant polymer. If thebyproduct can be removed from the reaction mixture by volatilization orotherwise, then polymer growth will, in general, be enhanced. Forexample, scheme (7) may comprise mixing the dithiol and theN-substituted hexahydrotriazine in a vessel to form a reaction mixture,and heating the reaction mixture to form the polythioaminal polymer. Thesubstituent (e.g., R²) bonded to a nitrogen atom of the N-substitutedhexahydrotriazine may be incorporated into a bis-amine byproduct, whichcan decompose into an amine byproduct (R²—NH₂), rather than beingincorporated in the polythioaminal. Thus, R² substituent may be selectedsuch that the amine byproduct is volatile at temperatures below 200° C.so that it can be removed from the reaction mixture during thepolymerization reaction, so as to increase molecular weight of theresultant polymer by driving the polymerization reaction forward. Thebyproduct can be removed by pumping off the generated vapor and/or byinclusion of molecules or materials which remove or otherwise sequesterthe byproduct from the remaining reactants.

The mixture of the triazine reactant and dithiol reactant may be heatedto a temperature generally above room temperature and up to about 200°C. In some cases, temperatures above 200° C. may be used, but somepolymers will degrade at higher temperatures (e.g., above 200° C.). Inmost cases, a reaction temperature of 50-100° C., for example about 80°C., will be sufficient to promote formation of the polythioaminalpolymer. The mixture may be stirred, or otherwise mixed, duringformation of the polythioaminal polymer. A higher reaction temperaturemay be used in some cases to promote removal of byproducts.

The hexahydrotriazine precursor may be any of the hexahydrotriazineprecursors described herein. And, as noted, one or more of thesubstituents bound to the nitrogen atoms of the hexahydrotriazineprecursor may be ultimately incorporated into an amine byproduct duringthe polymerization reaction, so the precursor should generally beselected such that this resultant amine byproduct is volatile at orbelow the reaction temperature. This byproduct may sufficientlyvolatilize from heating alone, or vacuum may be applied to encourageremoval.

Formation of the polythioaminal polymer may be controlled by adjustingtemperature of the reaction mixture and by adjusting solvent content ofthe reaction mixture. Lowering temperature or adding solvent willgenerally slow the rate of polymerization and slow increases in productpolymer molecular weight. Raising temperature or using less solvent willgenerally increase the rate of polymerization and growth of productpolymer molecular weight, though the reaction temperature is ultimatelylimited by the thermal stability of the product polymer and very highviscosities may otherwise prevent necessary molecular interactionsbetween reactants. Solvents such as N-methyl-2-pyrrollidone or othersuitable aprotic solvents, which may include dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO),N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF), N,N-dimethylacetamide (DMA), propylenecarbonate (PC), and propylene glycol methyl ether acetate (PGMEA), ormixtures thereof, can be used as reaction mixture solvents.

It should also be noted that more than one triazine precursor may beused to make the polythioaminal polymer according to scheme (7). Forexample, a random copolymer may be made by using two different triazineprecursors with one dithiol precursor. A block copolymer may be made bymaking a first segment using a first triazine precursor, making a secondsegment using a second triazine precursor, and then joining the firstand second segments using the first triazine precursor, the secondtriazine precursor, or a mixture of the first and second triazineprecursors. A variety of mixed polymers may thus be made by usingmixtures of dithiol precursors and/or mixtures of triazine precursorsaccording to scheme (7).

In the formulas herein, X and/or Z are not particularly limited providedthey are thiol reactive species. For example, X and/or Z may be aspecies selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, an alkane thiol,an aromatic thiol such as a thiophenol or a thioaniline, a peptide, aprotein, a thio-acid, a nucleotide, and combinations thereof, with theproviso that X and Z are not both hydrogen. X and Z may each beinitially provided to the reaction mixture as a solid, a liquid, or agas. In scheme (7) above, the reaction with HS-X may be performed in abulk liquid phase or at a phase interface between the bulk liquid phaseand a gas phase, an immiscible liquid phase, or a solid phase.Similarly, the reaction of HS-Z may be performed in a bulk liquid phaseor at a phase interface between the bulk liquid and a gas phase, animmiscible liquid phase, or a solid phase. The reactions of HS-X andHS-Z with the initial polythioaminal may occur simulataneously.

In a particular embodiment, the X and Z are each primary aromatic aminesand the polythiolaminal has the following structure (9):

wherein R corresponds to R¹ as described above, and n is again aninteger greater than or equal to 1.

With reference now to FIG. 2, the resin material 100 has been processedto provide porous resin material 200. The porous resin material 200includes portion 210 and pores 220. In this example, portion 210corresponds to the PHT rich phase of resin material 100 and the pores220 correspond in positioning to the PTA rich phase of resin material100. The PTA material in portion 120 has been broken down by thermalprocessing as an example; however, other processing may be adopted tobreak down the PTA material. PTA material may be, in addition to heatingor instead of heating, broken down by exposure to water and/or an acid,such as acetic acid. The degradation of PTA (in portion 120) forms thepores 220 in the porous resin material 200. Note that while pores 220appear, as depicted in FIG. 2, to maintain the position and shape of theportions 120, this direct correspondence is for purposes of explanationand it should be understood that removal of PTA material may cause thepores 220 to vary in position and shape from the initial position of theportion 120. Furthermore, it should be understood that the depictions inFIG. 1 and FIG. 2 are schematic. As such, the shapes and relative sizesand amounts of the respective phases and/or pores depicted in thesefigures is not intended to necessarily reflect actual shapes, sizes, andamounts of the phases and/or pores but have been selected to provideclarity in the explanation of certain aspects of the present disclosure.

Alternatively, in some embodiments, the portion 210 used can be a resinmaterial other than PHT. For instance, thermosetting resins based on atrifunctional ethynyl monomer (“tris-E”) that can be thermally cured ina temperature range from 200° C. to 350° C. might be used for resin 210.Mixtures of tris-E and PTA can be dissolved in a solvent such as NMP andcan be processed at temperatures around 145° C. for 2-3 hours toincrease the molecular weight of the tris-E resin component(approximately 27-32% conversion of monomer into higher molecular weightmaterial after 3 hours at 145° C. in NMP) to provide sufficientviscosity for the solution (of tris-E and PTA) to be processed byconventional means for forming coatings, layers, or components. Thematerial can then be cured at around 225° C., or above, to increase thecrosslinking density of the tris-E material and also degrade the PTAmaterial so as to yield a porous tris-E material. When the molar mass ofthe tris-E material increases, the physical blend of PTA and tris-Eresin can phase separate. The phase separation depends on the particularaffinity between the PTA and tris-E components. For example, differentthiol groups used to synthesize the PTA material may change the affinityof the PTA components towards the tris-E components. The curing reaction(10) depicts the formation of a crosslinked tris-E resin from of atrifunctional ethynyl monomer (e.g., 1,3,5 tris-(4-ethynylphenyl)benzene) as follows:

The dashed lines depict connections to other monomer group components,for example.

The process of making a porous tris-E resin material by incorporation ofa PTA component is depicted below in scheme (11):

As depicted here, the tris-E monomer and the PTA component are mixed,then heated while in solvent (e.g., NMP) to a first temperature belowthe degradation temperature of the PTA component, but sufficient topromote reactions of the ethynyl moieties of the tris-E monomer toprovide a tris-E resin (“TrisE resin”). For example, the tris-E monomerand the PTA component can be heated to about 145° C. while in NMP togenerate the tris-E resin. The mixture is now a physical blend of thetris-E resin and the PTA component. This blend corresponds to resin 100in FIG. 1. The physical blend may be, for example, molded, applied to astructural or other end-use component, mixed with a filler material, orotherwise processed for forming a structural or other end use component.During or after the processing of the blend, the temperature isincreased to a second temperature (around 225° C.) at which the tris-Eresin will further cure (crosslink) and the PTA component will degradeor decompose. The porous tris-E resin formed by heating to the secondtemperature corresponds to porous resin 210 in FIG. 2.

In general, the pore shapes and sizes are a function of the relativeratios of PHT (or tris-E resin) and PTA components incorporated in theresin and the processing conditions used in formation of the resin. Forexample, an increase in amount of PTA relative to the diamine monomer inthe reaction mixture would be expected to result in larger pore sizes,all other things being equal. An increase in curing time would also beexpected to result in larger pore sizes as more time would allow morecomplete phase segregation. Changes in molecular weight and/or degree ofpolymerization of the PTA could also change resultant pores sizes.

Larger pore sizes are not necessarily preferable, but there is noparticular upper limit on the size of the pores formed in the matrixresin beyond the practical limitations associated with structuralintegrity of the resultant porous resin in its intended end use. FIG. 2depicts the pores 220 as substantially random voids and does not depictspecific connections between adjacent pores 220. While not required,adjacent pores 220 may be connected to each other in certain instances.In many applications it will be preferable for each pore 220 to be onthe molecular scale (˜10⁻¹⁰ m to 10⁻⁶ m), and more preferably on thenanoscale (˜10⁻⁹ m). The size of the pores can be similar to the size ofthe molecular fragments removed during pore formation. In most cases,the pores are 10 nm to 100 nm in dimension.

The porosity of the resulting material (e.g., porous resin material 200)is dependent on the size of the porogen portions (e.g., portions 120)and on the proportion of porogen portions in the material before poreformation (e.g., resin material 100). The ultimate porosity may bepractically limited by the strength requirements of the material in itsintended end use. That is, if porosity is too high, strength of thematerial may be reduced. For most applications, porosity will be lessthan 60%, for example, 20% to 40% or less. “Porosity,” in this context,means the volume of void space in a material divided by the total bulkvolume of the material. The resulting porous material may have a bulkdensity less than 1.5 g/cm³, such as between 1.0 and 1.5 g/cm³, forexample about 1.36 g/cm³

FIG. 3 depicts a scheme for preparing a phase segregated resin, such asthe resin 100. A diamine monomer 310 is mixed with a polythioaminal 320.The diamine monomer 310 has the general structure (12):H₂N—R³—NH₂  (12)wherein R³ is an aliphatic species or an aromatic species. In aparticular embodiment, R³ has the following structure (13):

wherein L′ is a divalent linking group selected from the groupconsisting of *—O—*, *—S—*, *—N(R′)—*, *—N(H)—*, *—R″—*, andcombinations thereof, wherein R′ comprises at least 1 carbon and R″comprises at least one carbon. Each starred bond of a structure (13) inthis instance covalently bonded to one of the primary amine groups instructure (12). The polythioaminal 320 has a general structurecorresponding to structure (3) described above.

The diamine monomer 310 and the polythioaminal 320 are mixed in thepresence of paraformaldehyde to form a resin 330 comprisingpolyhexahydrotriazine and polythioaminal components. In general, resin330 will comprise a copolymer of polyhexahydrotriazine andpolythioaminal, but, depending on the relative feed ratio, it ispossible that resin 330 will also include single component polymers inaddition to the copolymer. Heating of resin 330 promotes phasesegregation such that a PHT rich phase and PTA rich phase will form. Atthis point, resin 330 corresponds to the depicted structure of resin 100in FIG. 1 with a PHT rich phase 110 and PTA rich phase 120.

As is known, formation of polyhexahydrotriazine can proceed viaformation of a polyhemiaminal (PHA) intermediate (glass transitiontemperature (T_(g)) ˜130° C.). It is possible therefore in this contextto form an intermediate resin comprising a polyhemiaminal portion andpolythioaminal portion before ultimately curing the resin material to acrosslinked polyhexahydrotriazine material. The intermediate resin maybe more easily manipulated for purposes of molding, casting, orotherwise forming parts, devices, films, or structures.

In particular applications where nanoporous end material is desirable,the covalent linkage of the PTA component with the PHT/PHA componentswould be expected to mitigate phase separation and thus result inlocalized and relatively small (e.g., nanoscale) PTA rich portions 120.The chemical incorporation of the PTA component within the PHT/PHAportion thus serves ultimately to nanostructure the end product PHTvitrificate (e.g., resin 330) during curing. In other words, bychemically incorporating the PTA component within resin 330 rather thanusing a simple, physical mixture of different polymers, ultimate poresize in the final porous material (e.g., resin 200) can be controlled tonanoscale dimensions, if desired.

Regarding FIG. 4, a process 400 for forming a porous material isdepicted. At element 410, resin such as resin 100 or resin 330 isobtained, for example, by the process depicted in FIG. 3. The resinincludes a PTA portion and PHT portion, for example. The resin can bealready phase segregated into a PTA rich phase and PHT rich phase or theresin may be optionally processed (element 420) to promote phasesegregation by, for example, heating. For element 430, the resin is, forexample, heated to a temperature above the decomposition temperature ofthe PTA portion. Alternatively, or in addition to heating, element 430may comprise exposing the phase segregated resin to water and/or anacid, such as a weak acid, such as acetic acid. Element 420 and 430 maybe conducted in a combined process, such that, for example, the ramp tothe temperature at which PTA decomposes can be controlled or otherwisedesigned to provide time for phase segregation to occur in the resinbefore the decomposition temperature is achieved.

Depending on the particulars of internal structure, polythioaminalmaterials can have a decomposition temperature of 200° C. or less, asmeasured by thermogravimeteric analysis. Generally, lower molecularweight R¹ and R² groups will provide polymers with lower thermaldecomposition temperatures, such as 110° C.-150° C. When used asporogen, lower thermal decomposition temperatures, such as approximately120° C., may be preferable for the PTA portion as this temperature willgenerally be below the glass transition temperature of the PHT portion(and the PHA portion, if not yet cured to PHT). When heated above thedecomposition temperature, polythioaminal components in resin (e.g.,resin 100) can decompose quantitatively into low molar mass productsthat can easily diffuse through the remaining portion(s) of resin.Furthermore, the heating to decompose the PTA portion can be conductedunder low pressure conditions (e.g., sub-atmospheric pressure) such asunder vacuum to promote removal of the decomposition products. That is,removal of PTA decomposition products (element 440) can occur duringelement 430. Alternatively, element 430 (e.g., heating, exposure towater, exposure to acid) and element (440) removal of decompositionproducts can be conducted in series such that, for example, processing(e.g., heating, exposure to water, exposure to acid) to promotedecomposition occurs first, and then vacuum is subsequently applied topromote removal of decomposition products.

Regarding FIG. 5, a composite component 500 is depicted. Compositecomponent 500 includes resin phase 510, resin phase 520, and filler 530.Composite component 500 can be, for example, a structural component, ora precursor to such, to be used in an automobile, a watercraft, anaircraft, or other vehicle. Resin phase 510 is, for example, a PHT richphase adjacent to filler 530. Resin phase 510 is similar in mostrespects to PHT rich phase 110 other than in its adjacency to filler530. Resin phase 520 is, for example, a PTA rich phase adjacent tofiller 530. Resin phase 520 is similar in most respects to PTA richphase 120 other than in its adjacency to filler 530. Filler 530 is anyone or more of a particle, a fiber, a fabric, a nanoparticle, ananofiber, or a nanotube. In some examples, filler 530 can be carbonfiber or a carbon nanotube.

Composite component 500 can be processed into composite component 600,depicted in FIG. 6. Composite component 600 includes resin phase 610,pores 620, and filler 530. Composite component 600 can be, for example,a structural component to be used in an automobile, a watercraft, anaircraft, or other vehicle. Resin phase 610 corresponds to resin phase510 in most respects, but may be cured/crosslinked to a greater extentthan resin phase 510 after the processing to remove resin phase 520 andgenerate pores 620 has been performed. In some embodiments, resin phase510 may initially be a PHA rich phase and resin phase 610 may be a PHTrich phase formed after the initially formed PHA material is cured toPHT material. Pores 620 are similar in most respects to pores 220 otherthan with respect to an adjacency to filler 530. In some embodiments,pores 620 are preferably significantly smaller than the filler 530 suchthat individual pores will not serve as a defect or stress concentratorin the component 600. For example, if filler 530 is a carbon fiberhaving a diameter in a range of 5 to 10 micrometers (μm), pores 620 canbe nanoscale.

Furthermore, it should be noted the depictions in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 areschematic. As such, the shapes and relative sizes and amounts of therespective phases, pores and/or fillers depicted in these figures is notintended to necessarily reflect actual shapes, sizes, and amounts of thephases, pores, and/or fillers.

The descriptions of the various embodiments of the present inventionhave been presented for purposes of illustration, but are not intendedto be exhaustive or limited to the embodiments disclosed. Manymodifications and variations will be apparent to those of ordinary skillin the art without departing from the scope and spirit of the describedembodiments. The terminology used herein was chosen to best explain theprinciples of the embodiments, the practical application or technicalimprovement over technologies found in the marketplace, or to enableothers of ordinary skill in the art to understand the embodimentsdisclosed herein.

While the foregoing is directed to embodiments of the present invention,other and further embodiments of the invention may be devised withoutdeparting from the basic scope thereof, and the scope thereof isdetermined by the claims that follow.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method, comprising: forming a mixturecomprising: i) trifunctional ethynyl monomer, ii) a polythioaminal, andiii) a solvent; heating the mixture to a first temperature at which thetrifunctional ethynyl monomer polymerizes to a first resin and thepolythioaminal is substantially stable; and heating the mixture to asecond temperature at which the first resin further polymerizes to asecond resin that is a crosslinked resin and the polythioaminaldecomposes, the second temperature being higher than the firsttemperature.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the trifunctional ethynylmonomer is 1,3,5 tris-(4-ethynyl phenyl)benzene.
 3. The method of claim1, wherein the mixture includes a filler material.
 4. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the filler material is a carbon fiber.
 5. The method ofclaim 3, wherein the filler material is a carbon nanotube.
 6. The methodof claim 3, wherein the filler material is a fiber.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the mixture includes a filler material that is at leastone of a particle, a fiber, or a fabric.
 8. The method of claim 1,further comprising: processing the mixture to form a structuralcomponent before heating to the second temperature.
 9. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: molding the mixture before heating to thesecond temperature.
 10. The method of claim 1, further comprising:applying the mixture as a coating on a component before heating to thesecond temperature.
 11. The method of claim 1, further comprising:applying the mixture on a carbon fiber component before heating to thesecond temperature.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the solvent isN-methyl pyrrolidone (NMP).
 13. A method of forming a compositematerial, comprising: forming a mixture comprising: i) trifunctionalethynyl monomer, ii) a polythioaminal, and iii) a solvent; heating themixture to a first temperature at which the trifunctional ethynylmonomer polymerizes to a first resin and the polythioaminal issubstantially stable; processing the mixture to form a structuralcomponent; and heating the mixture to a second temperature at which thefirst resin further polymerizes to a second resin that is a crosslinkedresin and the polythioaminal decomposes, the second temperature beinghigher than the first temperature.
 14. The method of claim 13, whereinthe trifunctional ethynyl monomer is 1,3,5 tris-(4-ethynylphenyl)benzene.
 15. The method of claim 13, wherein the heating of themixture to the second temperature occurs during the processing of themixture to form the structural component.
 16. The method of claim 13,wherein the heating of the mixture to the second temperature occursafter the processing of the mixture to form the structural component.17. The method of claim 13, wherein the processing of the mixture toform the structural component comprises applying the mixture to a carbonfiber.
 18. The method of claim 13, wherein the processing of the mixtureto form the structural component comprises applying the mixture to acarbon nanotube.
 19. The method of claim 13, wherein the mixtureincludes a filler material.
 20. The method of claim 19, wherein thefiller material is a nanoparticle.